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Community Bankers, Yes;
Community of Bankers, No

Updated Feb. 25, 1998 12:01 a.m. ET

Florida's community banks aren't acting much like a community these days.

In the weeks since the recent acquisition of Barnett Banks Inc. by
NationsBank Corp.
, Charlotte, N.C., many of the other big out-of-state banks have latched onto a new strategy to differentiate themselves from NationsBank: They're calling themselves hometown "community" banks.

But such ads annoy the Community Bankers of Florida. The Tallahassee-based group says the interlopers are misusing the community-bank designation -- which it reserves for institutions that are locally owned and operated. And to fight back, the group has suggested that its members launch their first statewide image-building campaign.

But the initial response from the group's members is lukewarm. "It's not completely dead yet, but I think [the idea] is on life support," says Jeffrey Grady, executive director at the association.

Why would bankers turn down the chance at statewide exposure? Mr. Grady says that the little banks are fiercely independent and don't like being told what to do, even if it might be for their own collective good. And though they pride themselves on being friendlier than big banks, the little guys, it seems, don't relish the idea of working together. "This is a little too mushy for some folks," says Mr. Grady.

"That's probably indicative of the mentality," says William Beiler, president of Alliance Bank, a Community Bankers member in Orlando. Though Mr. Beiler says he agrees that the moniker is being abused, he'd rather fly solo when it comes to marketing.

Alliance is preparing to poke fun at its big rivals with its own advertisements. Says Mr. Beiler: "We like to toot our own horn."

-- Karen L. Tippett

* * *

At Home Depot, One Little Project Produces Lawsuit

Home Depot Inc.,
the retail haven for build-it-yourself types, fixed up one of its own sites last year. But the store's landlord proved none too happy with the work.

In fact, Village Center Associates of Florida, a limited partnership that owns the land under the store, has filed suit against the Atlanta-based retailer, seeking restoration of the site to the way it was, and damages.

What Home Depot did was to make an access road next to its store in Hialeah, Fla., disappear. Workers blocked off the street, planted grass and built a sidewalk. The store had been concerned about safety on the road, says a company spokesman.

"People were using it as a shortcut to get around this particular intersection," the Home Depot spokesman says. "There were fender-benders routinely, and we took the action we felt was necessary."

Trouble is, the access road connected Home Depot to an adjacent shopping center, which VCA also owns, says Isaac Mitrani, a Miami attorney representing VCA. And since October, when Home Depot closed the road, access to the other retailers has been reduced. "If you're the adjoining parcel, you want traffic into your site to be as easy as possible," notes Mr. Mitrani.

VCA's lawsuit, filed in Dade County Circuit Court, charges Home Depot with breaking its lease and with hindering business at the adjacent mall.

Home Depot says it will defend itself but declines to elaborate further. The two companies are scheduled for a court hearing April 30.

The road had been a public thoroughfare for 20 years, says Mr. Mitrani. But since 1993, soon after opening its Hialeah store, Home Depot began asking about closing it. "They asked us for our permission and we said no," Mr. Mitrani says.

Mr. Mitrani is ready to concede one thing to his adversary -- it sure knows how to build stuff. The paving and landscaping were so thorough, he says, "you'd never guess there was a road there."